Doughnut giant Krispy Kreme had reported a narrower loss than expected in its second quarter, which ended August 2, managing to remain relatively strong at a time when the company says it has trouble selling doughnuts. Krispy Kreme’s results come after the company but a variety of efforts into place to remain profitable strong throughout the year.
 
For its second fiscal quarter, Krispy Kreme reported a $157,000 and managed to break even on a per-share basis, compared to the earlier possibility of a $1.9 million, or 3 cents per share, net loss. While revenue has fallen 12 percent from $94.2 million …read more

Considering the disastrous impact that the recession has had on many families along with a general slowdown in consumer spending across the board, it is hardly difficult to guess that the luxuries market has seen better days, but there may still be some hope. Legendary luxury retailer Tiffany & Company has posted a profit decline in the second quarter, but the company managed to beat analyst expectations.
 
New-York based Tiffany posted profits of $56.8 million this quarter, marking a 30 percent decline in profits from the same time last year when the company posted net earnings of $80.8 million. Sales have …read more

The recession has taken an especially severe toll on computer makers and other technology companies as their main customers, corporations, have had to cut back on technology spending. However, one computer company, Dell, has posted surprisingly strong second quarter results that hint at an imminent recovery in sales as more companies become able to upgrade their computers once again.
 
Today, Dell reported profits of $472 million, or 24 cents a share, compared to $616 million in profits last year, marking a 23 percent decline over the year. However, excluding the costs associated with putting its recovery mechanisms in place, Dell reported …read more

TiVo has long been pursuing reparations from companies whom it accuses of stealing its popular television technology that allows its users to pause, rewind, and fast-forward, but it has now decided to sue AT&T and Verizon over the matter. As it pursues the legal battle, TiVo has also posted a second-quarter loss that was narrower than expected.
 
According to TiVo, the company would have preferred to work out some sort of licensing deal before it went ahead with any sort of legal action, the latest move coming after TiVo apparently could not wait any longer. Analysts expect TiVo to use the …read more

Office supply retailer Staples had a rough second quarter, posting a quarterly profit decline of 38 percent. According to Staples, the earnings decline comes due to less people buying desks and chairs, as well as due to a narrower profit margin. However, despite Staples’ falling profits, sales have actually increased from last year to this year.
 
Net income fell to $92.4 million from $150.2 million just a year earlier, or to 13 cents a share from 21 cents a share. Sales experienced movement in the opposite direction, rising 9 percent to $5.53 billion from $5.1 billion in the same quarter last …read more

Despite the fact that it narrowly beat analyst expectations, casual clothing retailer Gap Inc. has posted a second-quarter profit drop of 0.4 percent off the heels of weaker sales in all four of its division. The results come as Gap continues in its efforts to complete a successful turnaround, reinvigorating its brand and maintaining a smaller inventory.
 
Gap has faced stiff competition from trendier and flashier rivals such as Aeropostale and The Buckle, both of which managed to post strong results thanks to their success with younger shoppers. However, Gap hopes to combat the growing competition by focusing on advertising and …read more

Petsmart’s second quarter brought with it surprisingly high profits, allowing the pet products retailer to narrowly beat the average analyst estimate for its second-quarter performance. Despite of its relative success in the second quarter, though, Petsmart has decided to cut its full year view off of predictions that sales would end up lower than expected.
 
Previously, Petsmart had predicted earnings of anywhere from $1.42 to $1.52 per share, but now the company has decided to revamp its earnings prediction to a range from $1.37 to $1.45 per share. Analysts have predicted that Petsmart will bring in $1.52 per share, but they …read more

If there is one company that has benefited from the economic downturn, it is the budget retail giant Wal-Mart, luring in more and more bargain hunting customers as Americans struggle to stretch their paychecks. Despite a noticeable slowdown in consumer spending across the board, Wal-Mart has managed to post an 88 cent-per-share profit, edging out their performance last year and topping analyst expectations.
Wal-Mart’s shares are up 2.5 percent in late-afternoon trading Thursday after having fallen 19 percent since September 2008. Analysts have credited the oft-maligned retail giant with improving its stores dramatically, cutting inventory and making its locations more desirable …read more

The widely-touted war between traditional video rental outlet Blockbuster and newer alternatives like Netflix seems to be decidedly in the latter’s favor, as Blockbuster’s same-store sales continue to suffer. This has led Blockbuster to report results that missed analyst expectations, even though they marked an improvement of the company’s potential losses.
 
Blockbuster has also decided to lower its unadjusted earnings target by $35 million to a range from $270 million to $290 million. According to Blockbuster CEO James Keyes, Blockbuster will not undergo any dramatic changes to turn the company’s fortunes around, despite growing levels of competition from low-cost DVD rental …read more

Despite posting a significant loss in profits this quarter, compared to the previous quarter and its results a year ago, Macy’s has brightened its profit outlook for the rest of the year. Macy’s renewed optimism stems from the fact that its second-quarter earnings, while down, managed to beat expectations thanks to Macy’s streamlining efforts.
 
In the quarter ending August 1, Macy’s brought in $7 million in profits, compared to the $73 million in profits it managed to accrue this time last year. However, many of the costs that held back Macy’s from posting a larger profit had to do with restructuring …read more